squirrel control

[Sciurus]

@Mice! perhaps I might have exaggerated slightly😇, the logs ontop were pushed to one side and the traps sort of lifted and  left resting on a corner as if a snout had rooted about. 
If it happens again,  I’ll have  to raise them or fix them on a tree.

I am trapping in E. wood as well but didn’t catch anything today, although there are still a few greys rushing about and disappearing in the canopy.

[Fisheruk]

Out this morning multiple Reds around, 3 seen at the same time chasing around the tree where the feeder is fixed. One 500 gram grey came for its last nut.

 

[amateur]

All three photos, nice to see.

[ratchers]

Out this morning and disturbed one on the feeder,hopefully it might come back I thought,half an hour later one did come but was very skittish and wouldn't settle,finally disapeared. A good hour later one was eating its last peanut and down she went, checked thro the scope it was fatal and then waited for the next customer, a little while later I come hear that tell tale sound of claws on bark but couldn't see anything, looked all around and then back to the feeder to see the shot grey trying to sit up, grief a zombie grey!! got the rifle up and looked thro the scope and was quite surprised to see a completely different grey on top of the dead one, it looked as though it was biting the head so dont know if it was trying to **** it or eat it!, couldn't get a shot on it because some pillock had forgot to cut the bracken down and it was moving about so much, in the end it gave me a clear shot which I took, upon inspection it had been a male and the first one was a female so anyone seen that behaviour before?

[Mice!]

2 hours ago, ratchers said:

upon inspection it had been a male and the first one was a female so anyone seen that behaviour before?

I've had squirrels come in and sniff then drag a dead one about,  but not seen one deliberately bite the head.

[Sciurus]

@ratchers I have seen this behaviour a few times on the Squirrel Hunter Channel on Youtube. 
I do enjoy his commentaries- a very dry sense of humour!

[ratchers]

16 hours ago, Sciurus said:

@ratchers I have seen this behaviour a few times on the Squirrel Hunter Channel on Youtube. 
I do enjoy his commentaries- a very dry sense of humour!

Haven't seen Squirrel Hunter Channel for a while but very watchable.

[Longbower]

A quick trip down to the feeder produced two more, that fell to the BSA [old faithful].

And 14.35 JSB Exacts.

[old man]

On 19/05/2023 at 13:38, ratchers said:

Out this morning and disturbed one on the feeder,hopefully it might come back I thought,half an hour later one did come but was very skittish and wouldn't settle,finally disapeared. A good hour later one was eating its last peanut and down she went, checked thro the scope it was fatal and then waited for the next customer, a little while later I come hear that tell tale sound of claws on bark but couldn't see anything, looked all around and then back to the feeder to see the shot grey trying to sit up, grief a zombie grey!! got the rifle up and looked thro the scope and was quite surprised to see a completely different grey on top of the dead one, it looked as though it was biting the head so dont know if it was trying to **** it or eat it!, couldn't get a shot on it because some pillock had forgot to cut the bracken down and it was moving about so much, in the end it gave me a clear shot which I took, upon inspection it had been a male and the first one was a female so anyone seen that behaviour before?

Only Friday nights in the local bus shelters.

Back at them soon, just done the NC500 and Orkney. Would like a 10% stake in Motorhomes and deer fence.

Edited May 23, 2023 by old man

[ratchers]

Was out this morning to somewhere where I have not shot for a quite a few weeks but have maintained the feeder level which has not gone down much until the last two weeks so I decided I better make a visit. Got settled in and had to wait a while for the first visiter which was a jay which I left alone,it flew off to be replaced by squirrel number 1 which took a head shot, an hour later number 2 was down and after that I walked around the wood to see two greys high up in the canopy.

[Mice!]

Today's success wasn't just about today,  its about preparing for when you can get out.

My shifts are about to change which means I'm back out next week,  but I've still been topping up feeders, mostly weekly knowing I'll reap the rewards later.

Today's feeder has been getting hammered,  for the last three weeks it's been almost empty every visit, with the ground cleared of seed which I knew meant there were a few about still, I've taken 25 from here so far this year and expected it to go quiet soon!

I arrived at the wood last night at 11pm        ( wife thinks I'm nuts, or should be busy doing other things 😅) the sun set I was driving towards was fantastic,  the mountains were back-lit by the setting sun and looked like something from Lord of the rings, there were people sat in chairs on motorway bridges facing it 😳😳 I went into the wood to find a load of dumped seed, with every sunflower case opened,  I've been putting the cheap B&M bird seed out, with molasses and added black sunflower seeds, the feeder was filled on Thursday night so there's no doubt they'll be here in the morning. 

I put the brolley and nets up, the little piece of wood I drilled making a massive difference to setting things up, no chance it's falling over in the night now.

Then headed for the caravan,  only to be stopped by the MOON, and what a moon it was, I'm calling it a blood red moon, it was framed by the hills and trees and was just stunning,  I took pictures and as usual they were terrible,  and look nothing like what I was looking at 😡😡

I was back in the wood for 6am, there was a squirrel on the feeder when I arrived but I wasn't worried about that,  I just got under the brolley,  gun out, sticks up and waited,,, for 5 minutes.

I know the first three or four came within 45mins, I had 6 down within an hour and a half,  which I went and moved, all males, some charged in, some came the aerial route, they were all shot on or under the feeder, they were all a bit hesitant which was why I cleared up.

Now after 6 I'd probably normally have thought job done, go somewhere else,  but I was just staying here today then back home.

The lull was maybe 15-20 minutes before the next wave started coming in from a different direction,  above and behind me, you could hear them on the dry leaves or bouncing in the thin trees above.

I had another five come in from various directions over probably an hour, which felt like ten minutes. 

After that I again went and cleared up, so I'm on 11 and thinking wow, where have all these come from? I was twitching when the 9th came in because I'd only shot 8 in one session before,  but still they came.

I sat back down thinking OK it's half 8, I'm packing up at 9, not long after another showed up in the thermal,  it was so close it looked huge, I was thinking its a fox coming down the banking, but it was number 12, and the only shot that stood out really,  because it moved as I took the shot, I'd had 11 perfect shots and thought this one had settled on the feeder, but it dropped what it had and ducked it's head as I took the shot, it bounced, rolled sat up behind the feeder and I hit it again with a quick follow up shot to the head.

I was very relieved,  it may have spoilt a perfect morning. 

8:45 and I thought I might as well pack up, there's nothing else going to come now, until I heard the crashing of leaves again behind me 😳😳

So I sat back and watched another squirrel make it's way to the feeder, it paused sniffing and looking, but there was blood everywhere and another dead squirrel laid on its back, up onto the feeder, took something and faced away slightly,  I waited,, it took another seed and sat sideways on PFFT WHACK DROP 

13, unlucky for those grey squirrels and a monster session for me.

9 males and 4 females,  the dark female above was the last to come in and a totally different colour to all the others. 

[London Best]

I saw a very dark youngster this morning whilst walking the dogs. 
I can only describe it as melanistic???

[arjimlad]

Great write-up @Mice!you're an inspiration! 

I am wondering about favouring my .410 at the moment because of the leaf cover, I tend to stalk & sit quietly as we don't have specific feeders up yet. 

Consequently I'm finding I come across squirrels at fairly close quarters and also running. 

[Mice!]

52 minutes ago, London Best said:

I saw a very dark youngster this morning whilst walking the dogs. 
I can only describe it as melanistic???

People do report black squirrels,  often thinking they are reds, but you get black greys and reds, so you need to be careful depending on where you are, thus one stood out just because it was so different to sell the others.

12 minutes ago, arjimlad said:

Great write-up @Mice!you're an inspiration! 

I am wondering about favouring my .410 at the moment because of the leaf cover, I tend to stalk & sit quietly as we don't have specific feeders up yet. 

Consequently I'm finding I come across squirrels at fairly close quarters and also running. 

Cheers mate, wandering with the .410 is @Sciurus preferred method,  a lot of my ground is pretty much a tangled mess now, so it's feeders and draw them in.  it's surprising how green everywhere is given how dry it is at the moment. 

[Sciurus]

@Mice! Wow, Wow, Wow - you finally needed the 2nd magazine, you always carried and hoped to use. Well done! The ferrets are going to be well fed. 👍👍👍

@arjimlad nothing wrong with using a 410 and going for a wander/hunt. It is the preferred weapon of choice in our Red Squirrel Society, very few use an air rifle or sit at a feeder. One of the reasons being there is just so much varied woodland spread out over 200 hundred square miles, nearly all very much open to the public, that it is more practical to hunt. We cull between 4000 to 7000 greys a year.

In my experience, the greys are very territorial and on each visit, I can point out fairly accurately which tree, copse or clearing, the greys are likely to be found- often dependant on the season and they are not going to sit still for an air rifle. Going for a wander is the only way of seeing what is happening in your area. - You also get to meet folk, who often tell you where they are seeing greys or even ask if you will control the greys on their property.

Get the .410 out and enjoy it- even better with a thermal!

 

[Mice!]

28 minutes ago, Sciurus said:

Wow, Wow, Wow - you finally needed the 2nd magazine, you always carried and hoped to use. Well done! The ferrets are going to be well fed. 👍👍👍

I know mate, I actually swapped mags after the 7th, the way things were going I just thought another three might not be enough!

[arjimlad]

@Sciurus will do! 

[Mice!]

Another busy week topping up.

I was out Thursday doing two feeders locally, I didn't do one of them last week, I'd intended on shooting it today but it hadn't been filled since the 25th May, I checked the camera last night and decided to leave it till next week because it might have been empty for a week.

Might need a new lid...

Go on then, my oldest feeder.

I wasn't going to go to the other feeder I shot Monday but the squirrels had pulled half the feed out onto the floor, so there are clearly still a few coming.

So after I set up last night I headed to check another feeder further away, I arrived at 22:15 and left at 22:40, clear signs of activity with one feeder empty, so I'll get a camera on that soon 👍

It was a nice evening. 

So I was in the wood by 6:30, the feeder was cold, and so I settled down to wait, it was nearly an hour before the first squirrel showed up but I was entertained by the Jay while I waited, doing its best I'm a squirrel impressions. 

In just over an hour I had another 7 squirrels off this feeder 😳😳 I was hoping for two or three.

20 in a week 😳😳

2 females and 5 males.

Now I need to tidy the caravan because the wife and kids are coming up today 🤣🤣

And it's going to be a hot one!! 

[Sciurus]

I hope you get rid of the corpses soon or it will be a smelly one!

Another good day for you👍

[Mice!]

13 hours ago, Sciurus said:

I hope you get rid of the corpses soon or it will be a smelly one!

Another good day for you👍

There were already flies everywhere mate, the should have been picked up yesterday but haven't gone yet I don't think 🤢🤢

[Accuspell]

Inspirational stuff on this page.

What do you use for bait in your feeders folks? I have only been using peanuts and although the feeder gets emptied, it takes 15kgs easily, within a week it isn't deer or badgers because it is 8 feet up the tree, so has to be something that can climb, or fly, and the feed shelf is self filling and only holds about a dozen peanuts - the feeder is not chewed because it is reinforced with metal, so is completely intact and the lid is clipped down. I don't have one of these fancy cameras - I am not sure I would know how to use one. Mobile phones are beyond me, other than making a phone call or sending a typed message text.
I haven't shot a single squirrel off it yet - not seen one visit, but something is emptying it.

[jall25]

2 hours ago, Accuspell said:

Inspirational stuff on this page.

What do you use for bait in your feeders folks? I have only been using peanuts and although the feeder gets emptied, it takes 15kgs easily, within a week it isn't deer or badgers because it is 8 feet up the tree, so has to be something that can climb, or fly, and the feed shelf is self filling and only holds about a dozen peanuts - the feeder is not chewed because it is reinforced with metal, so is completely intact and the lid is clipped down. I don't have one of these fancy cameras - I am not sure I would know how to use one. Mobile phones are beyond me, other than making a phone call or sending a typed message text.
I haven't shot a single squirrel off it yet - not seen one visit, but something is emptying it.

How long are you waiting Accuspell ? What time of day are you going ? I would just put up a pheasant type blue feeder with wheat 

[Mice!]

20 hours ago, Accuspell said:

Inspirational stuff on this page.

What do you use for bait in your feeders folks? I have only been using peanuts and although the feeder gets emptied, it takes 15kgs easily, within a week it isn't deer or badgers because it is 8 feet up the tree, so has to be something that can climb, or fly, and the feed shelf is self filling and only holds about a dozen peanuts - the feeder is not chewed because it is reinforced with metal, so is completely intact and the lid is clipped down. I don't have one of these fancy cameras - I am not sure I would know how to use one. Mobile phones are beyond me, other than making a phone call or sending a typed message text.
I haven't shot a single squirrel off it yet - not seen one visit, but something is emptying it.

Hi mate, I'll bet its birds and squirrels taking your nuts, if I put some nuts out on the ledge when I arrive the tits or Nut Hatches will take every one in some areas before a squirrel arrives,  the woodpeckers and Jays will feast all day if they can, can pigeons or pheasants get on your feeder?

I did some quick repairs on a feeder a while back, the pheasants and pigeons were loving it, because I watched them on camera! So that has come down to get fixed properly. 

The cameras are easy to use and make a massive difference if your trying to decide where to shoot or what time the squirrels are arriving.  If you're over my way at some point give me a shout and I'll show you one of mine.

 

[Accuspell]

1. Thanks guys. Mostly before dawn to mid morning. I expected first light movement but saw none, so then I tried late afternoon to twilight. I expevct I am going to have to bite the bullet and get one of these new fangled camera traps. It is knowing how to work it that worries me.

[Mice!]

5 hours ago, Accuspell said:

1. Thanks guys. Mostly before dawn to mid morning. I expected first light movement but saw none, so then I tried late afternoon to twilight. I expevct I am going to have to bite the bullet and get one of these new fangled camera traps. It is knowing how to work it that worries me.

If they aren't there first thing then it must be birds?

I went out last night to check and top up, Friday night I only had 30 images so didn't shoot there, they came Saturday but not till half 8, from then on its been earlier each day with squirrels all day starting at 530am 😭😭

I had 288 images,  the camera is set to trigger every 5 or 10 minutes I'm not sure which, so I know there will be squirrels there Thursday morning guaranteed,  they couldn't empty the feeder before then, so I'll be there putting up the brolley of doom Wednesday night and trying to get in the wood seriously early.

Without the camera you can only look at the feed level and expect there to be squirrels. 

This is the feeder in question,  my oldest.

And a shiny new lid, there hasn't been any damage here since I last did repairs,  this time the ply has just fallen apart mostly. 

And at least it will be nice and cool 🥵🥵🥵 easy on.